Media Non-transparency Research: The Case of Romania

This article presents the results of the latest country-to-country study on media transparency, the data for which were collected in Romania. This research investigated media non-transparency within the larger framework offered by Kruckeberg and Tsetsura (2003), and Tsetsura (2005a, b). The goal of the study was to examine problems of media non-transparency by examining media practices in Romania. Specifically, the study explored perceptions and opinions of Romanian media professionals (journalists and public relations practitioners) about non-transparent media practices that occur in a variety of Romanian media outlets. The article provides an overview of the media environment in Romania, describing the development of journalism and public relations professions in this former Soviet bloc country. Then, it reports the results of the survey conducted among Romanian media professionals on the issues of media influences, direct and indirect payments, and media credibility. Overall, 66 journalists and 127 public relations practitioners took part in this study. Participation of Romanian media professionals in the current research was facilitated by the Forum for International Communication, Center for Independent Journalism, and Association of Local Editors of Romania. The study showed that corporate publisher/owners and political affiliation of a media outlet are the biggest influences on Romanian media, as perceived by the surveyed media professionals. Similar to previous investigations (Tsetsura & Grynko, 2009; Klyueva, 2008; Tsetsura, 2005b; Tsetsura & Zuo, 2009), the study found that different types of non-transparent practices regularly occur in Romanian media. In many cases, journalists and public relations practitioners agreed on the frequency of occurrence of these practices. Romanian media professionals somewhat often consider acceptance of direct and direct payments as a normal practice. At the same time, Romanian media professionals do not regard this practice as acceptable. The results of the study also demonstrated that Romanian media professionals often face direct and indirect payments and influences at the workplace. One of the biggest concerns of Romanian media professionals was the failure of the media to disclose information when journalists or editors benefited from the provision of material, financial and technical resources provided by the news sources. Furthermore, the study showed that advertising sales departments of Romanian media frequently influence decisions of editors in terms of what information is published and from what sources. At the same time, Romanian media professionals reported that putting financial pressure on the media from news sources (such as the threat of withdrawal of an advertising contract) is not a routine practice in Romania When asked about media credibility, Romanian media professionals critically assessed their media system. Both journalists and public relations practitioners agree that all types of Romanian media are less credible than foreign news sources. Moreover, a majority of journalists (51.6%) and many public relations practitioners (41.5%) acknowledged the existence of information service contracts with media outlets to provide media coverage. Finally, respondents believed that direct and indirect payments and influences are the big problem in local and regional media as well as in the national media, which is contrary to the previous findings in Poland (Tsetsura, 2005b) that showed a significant difference between local and national media non-transparency. Although the respondents in this study generally agreed that accepting payments from news sources is a common practice in Romania, both journalists and public relations practitioners disagreed that accepting payments for news coverage is professional. This was consistent with findings in other countries, such as Poland and Ukraine (Tsetsura, 2005b; Tsetsura & Grynko, 2009). These results illuminated the importance of continuous discussions among media and public relations practitioners about professional standards and responsibilities in relation to news coverage. In general, this study continues to draw attention to the problems of media transparency around the world. Despite the existing geographical differences in findings, the fundamental issue of media non-transparency remains unresolved. Media professionals need to pay more attention to the problems of the media in countries with transitional democracies like Romania. This report provides a basis for journalistic and public relations professional organizations in Romania to initiate active discussions about establishing and following the professional and ethical standards and provides support for reinforcing codes and standards of ethics among both journalists and public relations practitioners who practice media relations in Romania..